With REC Solar’s help, IKEA officially plugged-in an expanded solar energy system atop its Denver-area store in Centennial, CO. Installation of the additional panels have more than doubled the size of the original array, which already was the state’s largest single-use rooftop array on a commercial building and now is the largest of any use.

The 83,700-square-foot solar addition consists of a 623-kW system, built with 2,492 panels, and will produce 961,000 kWh of electricity annually for the store. Including the existing system, IKEA Centennial’s total 1,121-kW solar installation of 4,704 panels now will generate 1,701,000 kWh of clean electricity yearly, the equivalent of reducing 1,200 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).

For the development, design and installation of the Centennial store’s customized solar power system, IKEA contracted with REC Solar, Inc. and achieved its goal of completing solar installations atop nearly 90 percent of its U.S. buildings (39 out of 44 locations), with a generation goal of 38 MW last spring. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems – as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) – and globally has allocated $1.8 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015. Consistent with the IKEA goal of being energy independent by 2020, IKEA has installed more than 300,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns/operates approximately 137 wind turbines in Europe.

“We are fortunate to have the roof space and corporate commitment to more than double the energy being generated on-site here at the store,” said John Ellis, store manager. “We are proud to make this investment and to grow our local sustainable footprint.”

Located on 13.5 acres along Interstate 25, north of County Line Road, the 415,000-square-foot IKEA Centennial opened July 2011 as the first U.S. IKEA store with a geothermal heating and cooling system. With geothermal and doubled solar, the store mostly will be utilizing its own renewable energy.

IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings retailer, today officially plugged-in an expanded solar energy system atop its Denver-area store that opened more than two years ago in Centennial, CO. (Photo Credit: Business Wire)